Sabbatical comes from Sabbath

Several people have reminded us that the word "sabbatical" comes from "sabbath" which, as Eugene Peterson says, means "stop," "quit", "rest" "take a break."

"So when are you going to take time to rest on this frenetic trip you've planned for yourselves?" our new friend Anne Maclaurin asked us -- or words to that effect.

So, last night we went to see Oliver with Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) in the role of Fagin.

The Sanctuary

I found a community called The Sanctuary that meets in the Methodist Central Hall -- right across the road from Westminster Abbey, actually -- on Thursdays, which was our good fortune. The Methodist Central Hall is this massive domed structure, built in 1912, quite obviously to demonstrate to the Church of England that they weren't the only show in town.


The Sanctuary, though, is a group of mostly 20s and 30s that meet in the chapel of this building.

When we go there, we were welcomed by a young lady called Matilda and a young man called James. There was tea, coffee and light snacks. Jonathan Green, the pastor, wasn't there tonight because his wife Felicity was going into labour with their first child. But James filled us in on the origins of The Sanctuary.

Jonathan came to work with the congregation that meets at the Central Hall, with responsibility for youth and young adults. He started The Sanctuary a few years ago with, I'm told, Felicity and one other person. Today, there's a community of over 100 young adults who come and go, with an average of 30 showing up each week for worship. This night I counted 25 including us.

The worship was not what you'd call experimental. We sang some standard worship songs -- Blessed Be Your Name, As the Deer -- with a grand piano and flute accompaniment. Jonathan didn't know till the last minute that he wasn't going to be there, so a member of the community read his sermon, which was part of a series on rest and recreation. It was really thoughtful, starting with a reference to Abraham Joshua Heschel's work on the Sabbath. The point was that as Christians we need to develop the spiritual discipline of rest and leisure, and learn to see our "holidays" as "holy days."

There was some good discussion afterwards about the challenge of living a balanced life of work, rest and prayer in our culture. Many young people come to The Sanctuary directly from work where they are immersed in the frantic pace of central London.

As I said, there was absolutely nothing glitzy or gimmicky about the gathering, but we came away with a feeling of authentic community.

One interesting feature of The Sanctuary is that there are about 25 people who participate in leadership -- music, setting up, hospitality, Power Point, praying, preaching. Every time someone does something, they are given points. Ordinarily, you would think this was some kind of competition to see who could accumulate the most. In fact, it's just the opposite. When you get to 6 points, you have to take a break from leading for at least a week.

This was quite a contrast to evensong at Westminster Abbey, but another fascinating expression of church in the heart of the city.

Westminster Abbey

We were going to tour Westminster Abbey, but it costs 15 quid. However, we noticed a sign for Evensong at 5 p.m., after the paid tours finish.

We showed up at 4:30 and were directed to stand with a crowd in the nave, waiting to go in. I was really surprised at how many people were there. I'm sure some were just tourists, but once everyone was seated there had to be 300 people.

Thankfully, it was a choral evensong. The choir began to sing with that ethereal, almost otherworldly sound that is so characteristic of English cathedral music. It sent tingles up our spines.

I don't think I could be an Anglican, but I do find Anglican liturgy, well done, one of the most beautiful things in the world. And this was truly beautiful.

I've been reading a book by Bob Hopkins and Mike Breen on clusters. They make the point that a lot of churches take the cathedral-inspired service as the norm. But whereas places like Westminster Abbey can do it REALLY, REALLY well, most churches can't. They have a choir and try to sing anthems by Purcell or Mendelssohn, but it's nothing but a shadow of what it ought to be.

Same thing for churches like Willow Creek. How many churches have tried to emulate Willow Creek, but done it really badly?

Bob and Mike's advice is that churches shouldn't try to be what they're not, or to take something that requires enormous resources which they will never have as the standard. What churches of any size can do is to be communities of disciples, and they shouldn't divert resources from those essential tasks into trying to put on a Sunday "event" that is beyond their capacity.

Three REALLY different experiences

We spent the day in London today. We took the city bus tour to get oriented. The first place we went back to was Trafalgar Square, where we went to St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church, made famous for world-class classical music by Sir Neville Marriner. When we arrived, there was a baroque ensemble rehearsing for a Friday night concert -- Handel, I think -- a guy playing the recorder faster than I thought it could be played.

But we got a sense of the ministry of that church too. First, music. There's a fantastic round of concerts. But they are also really involved in ministry with the homeless.

After sitting for a while, Diane said, "I'd really like a cup of tea." We were going to look for someplace to go, when we noticed the sign for the Cafe in the crypt. Now, the crypt in an old church is where they used to bury people. It's under the church, and St. Martin's have created this fabulous cafe with really tasty food and drink. It was quite crowded when we ventured down there about 3 p.m., so I can't imagine what it's like at lunch time.

This church has developed a vibrant and multi-faceted ministry in the heart of the city which includes music, social witness and provision of a place where people from all over can meet.

Teen and Parent Mentoring

We spent an hour with Ruth Gookey, an energetic young mom who works part-time at Stopsley directing their Teen and Parent Mentoring program. Ruth recruits mentors from the church, but also from the wider community, screens them and leads them through a six week training course.

Teens are referred to the program often through the local high school. But Stopsley also provides mentoring for young parents and they are often pointed to the program by midwives, social workers and health visits. Ruth connects those referred with a mentor who stays with them for a period of time, supporting and encouraging them.

What really impressed us is the the funding for the program comes from the local Council who have recognized Stopsley's commitment to the community. That's a level of trust that has been built up over a long period of time.

Ruth made an interesting comment. She said that church people get to exercise their gifts in many ways, but those outside the church often have a yearning to do something significant but have no way to let it out. The mentoring program provides that for them, in addition to the benefit to the clients.

Morning at the Oasis

Leaving Paul behind to read, our host Brian Jose took me to the Oasis, drop in centre. Staffed by volunteers from local churches and funded with donations, the Oasis is a women only haven for those of South Asian origin. Jill heads up Oasis, a rented house with a sitting room, a playroom, emergency overnight housing and a prayer/counselling room. The Muslim women who come face a variety of challenges: social isolation, lack of experience in accessing services, family pressure. The south Asian community here has an unusually high occurence of special needs in children. (Perhaps due to the very closed nature of the community) This puts extra pressure on the mums. Oasis is a great, safe place for a chat, a cup of tea, internet access, encouragement and prayer. A list was being circulated to sign up for a coach trip to a seaside resort and Jill was encouraging one young woman who was a little tentative about going a couple of hours away from home without her husband. There are scripture verses, in English and Arabic, in posters up on the wall. The Oasis is very clear that this is a Christian ministry and looks for ways to open doors to Jesus for the women who come. For example, if a woman wants to use the prayer room upstairs for her five times a day prayer time, she is accompanied by an Oasis volunteer who prays for her as she prays. Often, she will ask: what were you doing when I was praying? And the answer is "I was praying for you." So, a conversation opens about prayer, meaning of, purposes of, to whom, and so on. Oasis, like many Christian ministries, operates on the shoe string. Keep it in your prayers.

Open to the Community

I'm sitting in the spacious (and today, at least, sun-drenched!) atrium of Stopsley Baptist Church in Luton, north of London. It's set up with plenty of room for gathering and welcoming. There's the Lounge Cafe where you can buy snacks, drinks and light lunches. To my right is a large children's centre where parents and tots gather on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for "Hullabaloo" -- a play group staffed by volunteers. Today there is also a well baby clinic being held in the church.

What's striking me is just the level of activity and energy on a Tuesday morning. Toddlers and babies are laughing and crying, parents are coming and going, people are sitting on the comfortable couches and around tables in the cafe area, sharing conversation and cup of tea.

We spent some time this morning with Dave Shaw who is the pastoral care pastor at Stopsley. A social worker by training, Dave is responsible for nurturing and encouraging people from cradle to grave. He coordinates parenting courses, pre-marriage and marriage enrichment, as well as care for the elderly and dying. "I have the best job in the world," he told us.

Stopsley has built a reputation in Luton as a community that can be trusted to do high quality work with people of all ages. But that's clearly no accident. I'm getting a sense of a congregation that has very intentionally turned itself out towards towards the community, with a genuine care for people regardless of whether they ever show up at church.